Salmorejo is like the denser, creamier cousin of gazpacho. Both are made from tomatoes and served as cold soups, but salmorejo has more garlic and a lot of bread in the mix as well. This gives the soup a richer flavor and creamier texture- all without adding any milk products.

However, you can add whatever you like on top and many folks in Spain and Portugal add ham, cheese, or hard-boiled eggs for added protein and flavor. For these photos I stuck to adding just some more of the same olive oil I used in the soup and some chopped fresh basil for a bit of oomph.

The tomatoes need to be chopped and the cores removed before adding to the blender or food processor. For the garlic I used 3 big cloves, but if garlic isn’t your favorite stick to one clove as this soup doesn’t get cooked at any point in the preparation.

Since the bread takes up a lot of space in the food processor I mixed the tomatoes first then added the bread afterwards. The original recipes for this soup call for a type of bread called pan de telera which is a sourdough made from durum wheat. When this traditional bread gets stale then it’s time to make soup with it.

Since you might not be able to find this type of bread the next best thing is a sourdough or ciabatta with very few ingredients. Salt, yeast, flour, and maybe oil or sugar are all you need to make these heartier breads. Steer clear of soft white breads as they have a lot of other ingredients that can interfere with how the liquid is absorbed, not to mention the flavor!

Once everything is blended refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to chill the soup and allow the ingredients to mingle. When it’s time to serve you’ll need to push the soup through a sieve. To make this go quicker I used my old fashioned sifter with a crank handle and a finer strainer for any pieces that looked too big.

After that simply add the oil and basil on top -or your choice of toppings- and enjoy the fresh flavors of this tasty soup.